


Little Secrets

by Stariceling



Category: Naruto
Genre: Lee's Vest, Shippuden, preslash hints
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-11
Updated: 2007-06-11
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto takes a minute to admire Lee's new vest. (suggested Naruto/Lee/)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> First ep of Shippuden or so, though not really spoilers.
> 
> I love Lee's chunin vest so stupidly much. It just looks so cool! And practical! He needed some pockets (had a feeling he had to be hiding more than weights in those legwarmers).

Lee had a lot of excess energy lately. All of the excitement and elation he was feeling was getting translated into even more energetic training. It would be such a waste otherwise, wouldn’t it? All his excitement at reaching this first milestone, it was only right to put everything into reaching for the next step of his ninja way.

It wasn’t that he was unhappy with his progress. Not at all! Gai-sensei had been so proud that he was in tears. And when he had presented Lee with a vest to match his own, Lee had practically knocked his sensei down he hugged him so hard. And Sakura-san had been so gracious as to smile and tell him congratulations, which had made him too elated to sit still. Even Neji had cared enough to comment, if only that he had noticed Lee was still trying to keep up with him.

There was one other person Lee might have liked to share his victory with, though. Someone he had felt a certain comradery with from the first time he had tried to get through the chunin exam. It was impossible, of course, with Naruto off training. The news would probably be old by the time he could tell him, but there was nothing for it. If Naruto was training, he was in the middle of a noble pursuit, and Lee wasn’t about to interrupt him.

“Oi! Gejimayu!”

Lee paused for a second. He couldn’t have heard that shout just because he was thinking of Naruto for a moment, could he? This was no time to be hallucinating.

“Naruto-kun!” Lee was perfectly glad to turn and see Naruto really was running toward him. He couldn’t wait to see the fruits of Naruto’s training. In fact, he might ask him for a sparring match right there. What better way to celebrate his friend returning at last?

“Kakashi-sensei told me you’re chunin already.” He rubbed the back of his head, looking Lee up and down. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, and suddenly Lee was as proud of his recent growth spurt as of the accomplishments he had managed through pure effort, because at least Naruto had not left him behind there. “Man, I didn’t think you’d beat me.”

Well, that was what happened when he was too far away to even participate in the exam. “You will pass next time you take the exam. I’m sure of it!” Lee clapped both hands on Naruto’s shoulders in encouragement. They were alike, after all, and if Lee could pass his exam through practice and determination, Naruto could do the same.

Naruto didn’t seem affected by Lee’s compliment. Instead he tugged on the bottom of Lee’s vest curiously. “This is new, right? I thought you were Gai-sensei for a minute with this thing on.”

Lee was almost too happy to speak. If only he could be that much like Gai-sensei. “Y-yes! He gave it to me when I passed the exam.”

He almost missed the spark of mischief in Naruto’s eyes. In the next minute he had unzipped the vest and tugged it open. “Let me check something.”

Lee did not intend to let Naruto take his vest off. It was a gift from Gai-sensei, and very precious. It might get damaged eventually, but that was no reason to let people abuse it. He frowned seriously at Naruto. “I’m sorry, Naruto-kun, but I can not let you try it on.”

“That’s fine.” Naruto lifted one side of Lee’s vest and slipped his hand inside. He ran his hand down the inside of Lee’s vest so that the back of his hand slid down Lee’s chest.

“Naruto-kun! What are you doing?” Lee felt his face grow hot as Naruto repeated the gesture on his other side. While he wasn’t so rude as to just shove Naruto off, he did brace his hands against Naruto’s shoulders to hold him back.

“These things always have secret pockets and stuff like that! I just want to see where they are.”

Lee let his grip relax for a second in relief. That was just the sort of thing Naruto would try to do, too. Of course Naruto wouldn’t purposefully feel him up any more than. . . than Neji would. He had simply jumped to conclusions because he hadn’t seen his friend in so long.

Naruto took advantage of Lee’s slight lapse in concentration to duck under his restraining hands and dive at him. Lee was taken by surprise by Naruto knocking into him as he shoved both arms into his vest, and had to sit down in an undignified heap.

“Please stop that!” No matter how playful Naruto was intending to be, Lee found this far too embarrassing to allow it to continue.

“They have to be somewhere.” Naruto was feeling the back of Lee’s vest now, the backs of his hands pressed against Lee’s back because the vest fit so nicely. Normally it was quite comfortable, but Lee now knew it was too tight for a second person to be trying to crawl into it, the way Naruto was doing now.

“Why would it be efficient to put them there? I wouldn’t be able to reach them,” Lee tried to reason out loud, though he could hear his own voice getting shrill in panic.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so.” Naruto looked singularly disappointed. He shifted his grip on Lee to rub his palms slowly up and down Lee’s back. It was probably meant to be some sort of apology, but it only served to remind Lee of just how close Naruto was. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay.” He was glad to see Naruto again, even if he didn’t even have the sense to get out of Lee’s lap now that he had no reason to be feeling him up. Well, Lee quickly corrected, that wasn’t quite fair. Naruto had only been feeling up his vest.

“You really don’t have any? That sucks.”

Lee had thought is was his job to add the pockets in places that were convenient for him. After all, Gai-sensei must trust him to have that much sense.

“Well. . . just a few.”

Lee untangled himself from Naruto’s arms, then took Naruto’s hand and lifted it to the back of his neck so Naruto could feel the pouch he had just sewn into the vest there. That was one place he could quickly and unexpectedly draw a kunai from, though he was still working on getting the angle just right so he wouldn’t risk cutting the back of his own neck.

“That’s so cool!” Naruto grinned at him for a second before slipping his hand out of Lee’s and cupping it around the back of his neck.

“Hey, Gejimayu.” Naruto put his forehead against Lee’s for a second, the sparkle in his eyes promising some sort of fun, or trouble.

“Naruto-kun?” Lee couldn’t help feeling a little hesitant about the way Naruto was looking at him. He looked too happy to be thinking anything innocuous.

“I’m glad to be back.” And just like that Naruto let go of him. He stood and stretched happily, making Lee feel oddly cheated.

“Oh.” Lee found himself smiling as he picked himself up and dusted off his jumpsuit. “I’m glad to see you back safe as well.” All was not lost, after all. Maybe now he could challenge Naruto to that sparring match.


End file.
